Government Technology
Public CIO Magazine: Technology news to public sector C-level executives

MySpace Agrees to Delete Profiles of Registered Sex Offenders



Print
Comment
Sex Offender on the Prowl Illustration

Jul 1, 2008, News Report

Found in: Security

The social network MySpace has removed the online profiles of an additional 370 registered sex offenders from Missouri over the past four months, Attorney General Jay Nixon said today.

Nixon and other Attorneys General have been working with MySpace for more than two years to increase protections for young children and teenagers from online predators. That work resulted in a groundbreaking agreement announced in January.

The states pushed for changes after sexual predators repeatedly used the site to victimize children. As a result of the agreement, MySpace has instituted a policy of deleting the name of any user it identifies as a sex offender; that account information is then forwarded to Nixon's office.

"This has been a nationwide effort to protect kids that continues to get results," Nixon said. "MySpace has implemented several recommendations from the Attorneys General and from online safety advocates. We will continue our efforts so that not only are the profiles of sex offenders deleted, but also that MySpace and other social networking sites make significant strides to improve age and identity verification. We are working with MySpace to set the industry standard for protecting children from predators and inappropriate online content."

Nixon's work with MySpace has resulted in his office turning over to the Missouri State Highway Patrol 1,237 profiles that matched those of registered Missouri sex offenders; some individuals were found to have more than one profile. The Attorney General has asked the Patrol to examine the data to look for parole violations by offenders who may be barred from using a computer or from contacting minors.

In May, Nixon announced that he and 49 other Attorneys General had reached an agreement with Facebook, another popular social networking site, to protect children from online predators. That agreement also emphasized the four over-arching principles of preventing underage users, protecting younger users from inappropriate content, protecting younger users from inappropriate contact, and providing safety tools for the site's members.

If You Liked This Article, You May Also Like...

Related Products and Services

Latest News in Security


Latest Government Technology News


Industry Solutions for Government

Read real world deployments of technology in government from our sponsors.

View All Industry Solutions

Marketplace


This section
brought to you by:
Ca - Transforming IT Management

Enterprise Systems Management Survey Take this survey and get complimentary access to:
  • Forrester: Managing IT When Times Get Tough March 2008
  • Forrester: Market Overview: The IT Management Software Market in 2008, March 2008
Take the Survey Now!

SF Health Plan

  Yes! I would like more information about CA's solutions for Government.

IT Governance

IT Network Management: State and Local Governments Face New Challenges Network and voice management tools help agancies get optimum performance from today's increasingly complex networks.

IT Governance: Making the Difference in Cities, Counties and States Project and portfolio management helps government respond to old and new challenges. Featuring case studies from California Department of Agriculture, New York City, and Oakland County, Michigan.

CA Network & Voice Management Solution Brief Integrated, fault and performance management for end-to-end service assurance of multi-vendor, multi-technology converged networks.

University Safeguards Wired & Wireless Access CA's Network ensures availability & performance of key systems with single, unified view.

The Power of IT Helps Oakland County, Michigan, Develop a High-Tech Future CA helped Oakland County implement effective IT Governance and Service Management Solutions to support the evolution of their economy.

Enterprise Management

Success Stories: San Francisco Health Plan San Francisco Health Plan helps more people access affordable healthcare by simplifying IT management

Success Stories: Social Services Agency, County of Santa Clara County of Santa Clara improves the quality of social services with simplified IT management

Solution Brief: Service Availability Management The CA Service Availability Management solution correlates events across a broadrange of IT domains; enabling you to solve problems faster, drive down costs and expedite time to value.

Risk Compliance and Best Practices

Network and VoiceManagement for Evolving Business IT management specialist CA provides a foundation for delivering the value of unified network and voice management

By applying new levels of consolidation, automation and insight, dynamic Business Svc Mgt delivers improved service levels and cost controls

Deploying the CMDB for Change & Configuration Management The Configuration Management Database (CMDB) plays a critical role within the ITIL framework.

IT Service Management Process Maps Select your route to ITIL© Best Practice

Business Service Management Links IT Services To Business Goals Adopting a process-centric approach to IT, applying ITIL® best practices and building a service-oriented team culture